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India to harp on J&K election with Armitage

India continues to harp on the peaceful conduct of elections in Jammu & Kashmir, with wider participation, for reducing tensions in South Asia. This message will be conveyed in "strong terms" to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage during his visit on August 23, officials said.

Armitage will be in New Delhi for a day, before proceeding to Islamabad with the Indian complaints, to call on General Pervez Musharraf and ensure his support for the successful conduct of the four-stage polls in Jammu & Kashmir, scheduled for September-October.

According to reports from Washington, Armitage will be visiting New Delhi as part of an extended tour of Asia, during which he will also visit Beijing and Colombo.

Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca will follow him in September. She will primarily focus on the tensions between India and Pakistan, but her visit is also expected to extensively cover Indo-US bilateral relations.

Sources in New Delhi said Armitage is expected to press India to reduce tensions and probably "try and work on proposals" discussed during Secretary of State Colin Powell's recent visit.

Though Powell failed to achieve any breakthrough, India agreed to intensify military contacts with Pakistan provided terrorism figures as a key topic of discussion between military commanders. Pakistan's response is not yet known.

Sources said India would use its "entire might" to ensure the success of the election in Jammu & Kashmir, and would tell its American interlocutors to continue their efforts to the same end.

The US embassy in New Delhi has already delivered 'strong signals' to the Kashmiri separatists, especially the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, that their participation in the election is an important step towards resolving the Kashmir problem.

American embassy officials who have met Hurriyat leaders both in Srinagar and New Delhi have also warned them that violence during the election would have an adverse impact on whatever international sympathy the Kashmiri struggle enjoys right now.

The Indian leadership will tell Armitage that there are credible inputs from its intelligence agencies that Pakistan-backed terrorists are planning to wreak havoc during the polls. "Already they have begun targeting political workers. They will also be targeting local police officers and security installations," a senior intelligence officer told rediff.com

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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